Chinatrust Commercial Bank Chairman Jeffrey Koo (辜濂松) is still an ambassador-at-large, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
Ministry spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月) was responding to a newspaper report that Koo, who heads the Koo's Group, one of Taiwan's largest business conglomerates, has rejected an offer to continue serving as an ambassador-at-large for the Chen administration.
"The report is not true," Chang said.
"The fact that Koo is one of our country's ambassadors-at-large has remained unchanged as the foreign ministry has not received Koo's resignation letter."
A Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday that Koo, 70, had informed the foreign ministry of his desire to discontinue his service as an ambassador-at-large because of concerns about his health and a busy travel schedule.
Koo's desire to travel to China to help manage family businesses there might also be a reason behind his apparent decision to leave the post, the newspaper report said.
As an ambassador-at-large, the paper said, Koo has a hard time obtaining Beijing's approval to visit China, as Beijing has shunned contact with members of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) administration.
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